Engaging Businesses: Why?

Strengthen our local economy

Develop our business community

The Saint John Pattern of Life Data project will strengthen the Uptown Saint John business community and drive the economic activity in our local economy. Citizens, businesses and the downtown community at large are engaged with this project to create transformational changes in our community.

The project purpose is to better analyze and understand how people interact with our uptown, in both vehicular and pedestrian context. We will take conditions, such as traffic, parking, weather, cruise ship season and festivals and events, and analyze how they impact the uptown core. This data will be digested and presented to demonstrate trend analyses on the direct result of these conditions on the local economy across all sectors including retail, entertainment, restaurant and tourism. The results will drive and inform capital project decisions, better understand underperforming and overperforming regions in the city and predict and model future decisions based on historical information for any given geographic locations.

The information that these data sets provide is unique to the city of Saint John and will enable better business decision making processes, introduce new revenue opportunities and provide citizens with data backed stories to support business in the city.

Businesses Created from Data

Big Data has been around for centuries and is not a new concept. However, the way innovative companies are starting to use this data, is where the real value lies. We’re witnessing new companies disrupting their industries by capturing data and analyzing, curating and presenting it to their customers in actionable formats. The business of big data has become just that; “business”, and the companies leading the charge are finding creative ways in which to leverage this. With the rise of open data initiatives, we predict that these companies will continue emerging at rapid pace.

Businesses Strengthened By Data

Small brick and mortar businesses are often discredited for their ability to leverage data to do such things as; increase sales, drive customer engagement and data backed decision making. The team at HotSpot has been privileged to work closely with hundreds of business owners across North America, and can happily report that discrediting biz on their data intelligence, is in fact naive. Data is the driving force behind many large decisions, starting with the very beginning of their business journey: Where should my business be located and why? Big data has opened massive potential for businesses to better understand their customer base and the geographic location that they’re serving. These accessible data sets allow for the business owners to consistently stay relevant in their marketing, target their ideal demographics and remain competitive in their industry.

Business Data Stories

HotSpot Merchant Solutions is a company working out of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Best known for their pay-by-phone parking solution with an integrated and unique beacon system, HotSpot works to revitalize downtowns across the globe. The beacon system is the cornerstone of the company; defining their parking system and in-store customer engagement features for small businesses. It is through these features that HotSpot will achieve its mission and purpose.

Jake and Lori are the dynamic duo that are taking the wheel on civic engagement and making it fun. Black Arcs is “The first transit simulator built as a web-based video game. Anyone can really explore the dynamics, impact, and tradeoffs of transit for a better discussion.” Both Lori and Jake share the passion of using new, disruptive technologies as a force for good, and have certainly done so with Black Arcs.

“Our platform offers customers an unprecedented amount of control over their energy usage. With the information they receive they are able to make the right choices. With features like personalized recommendations, marketing to targeted customers and tracking engagement metrics, customers can now engage with their utility like never before. Our goal is to make saving energy effortless. With our software, your customers will have the information they need to answer any energy related questions.”

“Remsoft makes the complex world of sustainable resource management simple, predictable & profitable. As a global leader in land-use planning solutions, we help you unlock your land value and gain insight into how your land assets are being used and could be used.We’ve been working with big data for decades, bringing business intelligence to planning and optimizing land assets in forestry, utilities and other resource sectors.”

“At Rise, we believe in next generation home building, today. Making sustainable home building choices should be engaging, and should benefit everyone – financially, socially, and environmentally. Our goal is to make it easier and more accessible for everyone to take advantage of the amazing technologies and advancements in sustainable home building, and breaking down barriers to adoption like cost prohibition and rebate/incentive availability – making it a no-brainer for any homeowner or professional to design and build this way. We’re on a mission to change the residential construction landscape by helping everyone build better homes that are fit for tomorrow’s standards.”

Seeking Open Data to grow your business?

ODX connects those who need data with those who have data, develops tools to share data, provides training and networking opportunities, and influences policy and standards. ODX is a national initiative to strengthen Canada’s technology brand and accelerate commercialization.

Purchasing Property.

Additional Content

Whether it be the local mom & pop outpost or big box superstores, brick & mortar retailers have been increasingly under strain in the past several years due to major shifts in consumer buying patterns. Internet sales are booming, and even those with a sense of urgency for their purchases are able to find satisfaction online through same day delivery (in some areas) with retailers like Amazon. In the fight to stay relevant, many brick & mortar businesses are turning to big data and other technology solutions.

Philip Evans

What does the future of business look like? In an informative talk, Philip Evans gives a quick primer on two long-standing theories in strategy — and explains why he thinks they are essentially invalid.